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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888804">The Liberation of Valérie Thomas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/summersa74/pseuds/summersa74'>summersa74</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU of an AU, Angst, Coming Out, F/F, Female Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Fluff, Found Family, Identity Reveal, Kinda, Misgendering, Runaway Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Trans Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Transphobia, deadnaming</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:48:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,917</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888804</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/summersa74/pseuds/summersa74</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple childhood play date sparks something that ultimately leads to freedom and happiness.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22771042">tell me you love me and make me believe it</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSeanchai/pseuds/AlexSeanchai">AlexSeanchai</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Notes:  This is my first writing for anything other than work in nearly 20 years!  Inspired by "tell me you love me and make me believe it" and "set a course for winds of fortune", both by AlexSeanchai.  This fic will deal with issues like dysphoria, transphobia, misgendering, and deadnaming.  Thanks to my betas Khanofallorcs and the-river-of-light on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord, one of whom is a sensitivity beta.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eight year old Adrien plays a game.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien just knew it was going to be a good day. His parents were taking him along for a meeting with Audrey Bourgeois. That meant he had time to play with his best and only friend. He wished he had more friends like those he could make if he went to school with Chloé.</p><p> </p><p>Every once in a while, he would ask to go to school like other kids his age. Maman would always say, “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” while father always seemed to get mad and say, “Out of the question!” So he didn’t ask too often.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien’s mood brightened as the car pulled up and he saw Chloé waiting by the door of the Grand Paris Hotel. He was barely out of the car before she was running up.</p><p> </p><p>“Adrien!” the blonde screeched as she tackled him in a hug. “We’re going to have so much fun. There are snacks and we can watch ‘Beauty and the Beast!’”</p><p> </p><p>His maman just smiled and said, “Be good, dear. We’ll be busy for a few hours.”</p><p> </p><p>Before he knew it, Chloé had grabbed his hand and dragged him to the elevator. As they walked into her suite he saw his favorites. Juice, chocolate chip cookies, and macarons! Today was already fun.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“What do you want to do next?” Chloé asked as the credits rolled. Adrien looked around her room and saw some paper and crayons.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s draw something,” he said as he ran over to grab supplies. Loot in hand, he laid on the floor and tried to figure out what to draw, but nothing was coming to him. He looked over at Chloé’s paper, where the outlines of some dresses were starting to take shape. “Chloé, what should I draw?” he asked as his blank page stared back at him.</p><p> </p><p>“I always draw something I like or makes me happy,” she said as she started grabbing crayons to add colors to her dresses. “Maybe you should try that.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Something that makes me happy? </em>It felt like he stared at the page forever, and then it hit him. <em>Our last trip to Grandpére’s house in the Alps! That was fun and I was happy the whole time! </em>Pencil hit paper as the outlines of mountains started to take shape. He lost himself in his work until he looked down at a picture of himself standing between maman and father, each of them holding one of his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that?” Chloé asked when she looked over.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s my family when we went to the Alps this summer!”</p><p>“Was it fun?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it was really great! I got to swim and ride the toboggan run with Maman!”</p><p> </p><p>They sat and admired their work as they watched some cartoons on TV. “I know what we can do!” she said as the show ended. “Lets play ‘princess’!”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>“We can put on dresses and pretend we’re pretty princesses.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“But Chloé, boys don’t wear dresses,” he said as she started dragging him towards her bedroom. <em>Me in a dress? No way!</em></p><p> </p><p>Chloé turned to him and pouted. “You don’t want to play with me anymore?” she asked with wet eyes and a quiver to her voice.</p><p> </p><p>He hated it when she cried. He’d seen her cry about her parents not having time to spend with her before. “Please don’t be sad,” he said as he wrapped her with a hug. “I’ll play ‘princess’ with you.”</p><p> </p><p>They walked into her closet and she started going through clothes. “What do you want to wear?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, Chloé.” He said as he was mesmerized by the different options. “I don’t know anything about clothes for girls.”</p><p> </p><p>Chloé pushed him back into the living area. “Wait here. I’m going to change and I’ll find something for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien fidgeted while he looked at the city past her balcony. <em>I’m so nervous! What’s taking her so long?</em></p><p> </p><p>The door opened and Chloé stepped out in a yellow sundress with the black stripes she always seemed to be wearing. “That looks really pretty,” he said as she grabbed his hand and led him back into her room.</p><p> </p><p>“I picked this out for you. What do you think?” On the bed lay a plain black top, a bright green pleated skirt, and black tights. “Look! The green matches your eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged. “Okay,” he said, not sounding too sure of himself.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll wait outside for you to get dressed. Then we can be pretty together.” There was a click and he realized he was all alone. <em>I don’t know if I should do this. What if we get caught? What if I ruin it? </em><em>What if I don’t look pretty? </em>He blinked at that last one. <em>Why did I think that?</em></p><p> </p><p><em>How do I do this? I guess I start with the tights? Ooh. These feel nice.</em> He put the skirt on next, then the top. <em>This is so comfy! And my legs are free! This feels really good.</em></p><p> </p><p>He hesitated a moment before he opened the door and stepped outside. <em>I hope she doesn’t laugh at me.</em></p><p> </p><p>Chloé turned her head at the sound of the door opening. Adrien was there rubbing his arms protectively over his chest. “Oh my gosh! Adrien! You look so cute! Let’s go to the mirror so you can look at yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien let himself be pulled over to the mirror on her closet door. His eyes blew wide open as he stared at the little girl looking back. <em>Is that what I look like? She’s really pretty. The skirt really does match my eyes, and everything feels so much softer than my clothes. </em>He shook his head when he realized Chloé was talking to him.</p><p> </p><p>“See? I told you you would be pretty. You might be prettier than I am,” She giggled.</p><p> </p><p>“No, you are.” They both broke into laughter and spent the next ten minutes chasing each other around the suite. It was something they did when they were tired of sitting still. Adrien was worried they’d get in trouble the first time they did it, but Chloé’s father said it was fine as long as they kept the noise down to a decent level.</p><p> </p><p>Another voice in the room laughing sent them to a screeching halt.</p><p> </p><p>“Maman!” Adrien yelled as he ran over to give her a hug. “We’re playing ‘princess’!”</p><p> </p><p>“I can see that, honey.” She laughed again. “You make a very pretty princess.”</p><p> </p><p>He ran over to his picture of his family. “Look Maman, it’s us on vacation”</p><p> </p><p>“Good job, Adrien. Let’s put it somewhere when we get home.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is going on here? Why are you wearing a dress?” Father didn’t sound too happy.</p><p> </p><p>“Gabe, dear,” Maman turned to him, “they were just playing around.”</p><p> </p><p>“Preposterous! Adrien shouldn’t be gallivanting around in girl’s clothes. Get dressed we’re leaving!”</p><p> </p><p>Why was Father mad? They were just having fun. “But, Father…”</p><p> </p><p>“Now!”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Adrien spent the ride home looking at the people of Paris doing whatever they did during the day. He didn’t understand why Father acted like he was mad, but he did know two things. He made a pretty princess and it was the most fun he ever had at Chloé’s.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Just Another Day in Paradise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette gets worried. Adrien gets a surprise and feels some feelings.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette smiled as she saw her friends waiting on the steps of Lycée Anaïs Nin. The school year was still young and she had the feeling this year would be one of the best yet. Her class had somehow managed to stay together in the move to lycée even sharing the same homeroom. The more cynical among them always said the school board decided to keep the “Akuma Class” together to keep the inevitable attacks contained, but she chose to look on the bright side and believe they got lucky. After all, it only made everyone become closer.</p><p> </p><p>Not to say that there weren’t problems. Chloé could still be Chloé. Though even Marinette had to admit she had been getting better. After a mental breakdown caused the Miracle Queen attack, and Sabrina comparing her behavior to Audrey’s, Chloé started seeing a therapist. Marinette would almost call the results miraculous. Chloé had worked hard at repairing the bridges between herself and the rest of the class. Sure, sometimes she still insulted somebody, but now it was more and more obvious that the insults were unintentional instead of malicious.</p><p> </p><p><em> Seconde </em>had been hard on all of them. Even though Marinette finally came clean to Adrien about the threats, Lila had been making good on her promise to take all her friends. But thanks to a mistake on Lila’s part, she found some new allies. Nathaniel and Marc had approached her after Lila offered to show their work to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The group was about ready to make another push to expose her, when help came from somewhere unexpected halfway through the fall: Lila’s mother was being recalled in favor of a new Ambassador after a change in government back in Italy.</p><p> </p><p>Not long after, the members of Kitty Section had been the first to break through the fog of lies. Jagged Stone had dropped in on a practice to mentor the band. Rose had simply asked how his cat was doing. That’s all it took for the dam to burst and the truth to spread among the class. It took most of the year for Marinette to get her friendships with the class back to where they were, but everyone agreed they were stronger for it.</p><p> </p><p>A laugh brought her out of her musings as she approached. It was <em> the </em> laugh. Adrien was laughing at something Nino had said. She still liked him, maybe even more now that she knew the anime and pun loving dork that was the real Adrien, but she had realized a couple of things over the past few years. Adrien needed friends more than he needed a girlfriend. It’s not like she had time for dating with Ladybug duties and occasional visits to the Guardian Temple. She also knew there was no way he would fall in love with someone who couldn’t even talk to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Girl, you’re early!” Alya said as she took a coffee out of Marinette’s drink carrier. Marinette pouted and stuck her tongue out at the girl as she started going around giving pastries to her classmates. It had started as a way to prove there were no hard feelings after the Lila debacle, but now treats for everyone and coffee for Alya, Nino, and Adrien was a Monday morning tradition.</p><p> </p><p>Rose came bounding over, phone in hand with a blushing Juleka in tow. “Guys! Did you see the pictures from Juleka’s latest shoot?” After her trial run with modeling for Marinette’s website, Juleka had started freelance modeling for some other independent designers and smaller fashion houses. Rose was waving her phone in their faces so hard, Marinette had to grab it so they could get a look. Designer’s tended to take advantage of Juleka’s slim frame to show off their more androgynous designs, but this one was different. She was wearing a simple black and purple pantsuit, but the cut was unmistakably feminine and Marinette thought this might be her best shoot yet.</p><p>“Whoa! You look super cute!” Marinette and Alya said at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy crap, dudette, that’s super pretty.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, Nino’s right. You’re really pretty in that,” Adrien said, hoping he kept the wistfulness out of his voice. As Juleka started going over the details with Alya and Nino, Marinette slid over to Adrien.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey. You okay?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.</p><p> </p><p><em> Oh, she noticed. </em> “Yeah. It just reminded me of a shoot later this week.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really, I’m fine. It’s a couple’s formal wear shoot, and I always have to psych myself up for those.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay. You know I’m here for you if you need to get anything off your chest,” she said with a side hug.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The bell rang before he could respond.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Can everyone make it to my party Friday night?” Chloé was saying as they walked into the room. Adrien was confused for a moment until he remembered her invitations at the beginning of the year. He’d even commissioned a Flynn Rider costume from one of Father’s seamstresses. He was lost in thought until he noticed Chloé in his face. “Well, Adrikins. Are you coming?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll try, Chlo. You know how father gets about parties.” He turned to Marinette. “Who are you dressing as?”</p><p> </p><p>“Rapunzel. She kind of reminds me of someone I know.” Her brow wrinkled with worry. “Do you need me to make something for you?”</p><p> </p><p>He gave a chuckle. “What a coincidence, I had a Flynn Rider costume made at the beginning of the year. I just forgot about it until today.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t wait,” she said and went slightly pink. “We’ll have a lot of fun.”</p><p> </p><p>“I hope so,” he said as the teacher walked in. <em> I’m looking forward to it. </em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Why do I even bother trying?” Adrien moaned to Plagg as he flopped into his computer chair Thursday night. <em> Naturally </em> the shoot had run long. <em> Naturally </em> Gabriel assumed it was his fault. <em> Of course </em> Gabriel said he was to stay home Friday night and practice his piano and Chinese. He didn’t even have any Chinese practice he could do anymore. His tutor said if he wanted to learn anything new, he needed to talk to a native speaker. Besides, Gabriel and Nathalie weren’t even going to be here. They had some emergency trip to Milan and would be gone until at least midnight, but no, Adrien had to be a prisoner even without them around. He had just fired up the Ladyblog when his phone chimed.</p><p><b>Gorilla: </b>Hey kid. What time’s your party?</p><p><b>Adrien: </b>19:00, but you heard Father. I can’t go.</p><p><b>Gorilla: </b>Don’t worry about that, kid. As long as we get you back before midnight, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. It will be our little secret.</p><p><b>Adrien: </b>Seriously?!? You’re the best!</p><p><b>Gorilla: </b>Don’t mention it. Someone your age deserves a little fun in their life.</p><p>Adrien set his phone down with a happy sigh and felt Plagg settle into his hair. That was one thing troubling him taken care of. “Did you see that? He’s going to take me to the party anyway!”</p><p> </p><p>“I knew he was alright. He’s been getting you more time with the DJ and Pigtails, hasn’t he?” That was true. He always seemed to get stuck in traffic or deal with long lines only if it meant Adrien had a few more minutes with his friends.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, he has. I don’t know how he seems to know exactly what I need,” he said as his other troubling thoughts started creeping in.</p><p> </p><p>“I keep telling you, he’s a lot smarter than he lets on,” Plagg said right before he noticed his Chosen’s change in mood. “You okay, kitten?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Adrien sighed. “Just some thoughts coming back.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg flew down in front of Adrien’s face. “<em> Those </em>thoughts, or other thoughts?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Those </em> thoughts. And before you ask, no, I’m not ready to talk more about them yet. I can’t tell you how I feel if <em> I </em> don’t even know how I feel.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg nuzzled his cheek. “It’s alright, kitten. These things have a way of working themselves out one way or the other. If it will help, why don’t you lie down and think it through? I’ll grab some Camembert and turn in for the night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good night, buddy,” Adrien said as he fell on his bed. <em> I hope I can actually sleep tonight. </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. What’s a Party Without Games?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adrien does some thinking and goes to a party.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Contains thoughts of dysphoria and internalized homophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien lay in bed, the events of the photo shoot going through his head. He was able to pinpoint when the thoughts started this time. It was a simple comment as the male models waited for the girls to change in between scenes. One of them had said, “Man, any one of us would be lucky to be with any one of them.” <em>Even if I wasn’t still in love with Ladybug, I don’t want to be with one of them. I want to </em>be <em>one of them.</em> He knew from some of the poses that the dresses they were modeling were incredibly elegant, yet with a daring edge. And the fabric was <em>so </em>soft.</p><p> </p><p>He groaned and rolled onto his side. This was the second time this week. He somehow managed to concentrate in school after seeing Juleka’s pictures. Luckily the feelings had subsided by the time school got out. They were becoming more and more frequent. Sometimes they were little things like getting makeup done for the shoots that were going for a more androgynous look. There was the time a few months after he met Luka and realized he liked guys, too. <em>I like guys. </em><em>But, girls like guys. But, I’m not a girl.</em> Fortunately, Plagg had talked him out of his faulty logic really fast.</p><p> </p><p>“Listen, kid. Pink Girl and Goth Girl are together, and they’re both girls, right? So are the Comic Book Guys. They’re both boys. Hell, about half of the guys in fashion like guys. So you like both? Big deal. That’s a lot more normal than you might think. And even if it weren’t, it would still be okay!” The little cheese monster could give pretty good advice when he wanted to.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes it would happen when he looked in the mirror. He knew he wasn’t the most masculine looking guy out there, his mother’s genes and model diet had seen to that, but he still felt like his proportions were all wrong. His hips were too narrow, shoulders a touch too wide for his liking. At the same time, his jawline hadn’t hardened yet. That side effect of Agreste DNA didn’t happen until the early 20s if photos of his father were anything to go by. Besides, his boyish looks gave him more work, which was a blessing and a curse.</p><p> </p><p>Then there was today. It wasn’t the first time the female models in a shoot had made him jealous. They always had more variety than the same boring suits. And it all looked more comfortable, too. He sniffled and flipped over as a couple of tears rolled down his face. The last thing he remembered before sleep finally took him was Plagg’s rumbling purr next to his head.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>He woke up with a surprisingly good feeling about the day. Not even a pop quiz in history could dampen his mood. Fencing was a good distraction, but he wished Kagami was still around. Her family had to go back to Japan in the summer to care for a sick relative and she was still there. At least she could have provided more of a challenge. He didn’t want to talk bad about his teammates, but he, and they, knew that he was well above their skill level.</p><p> </p><p>He waved goodbye to his unfortunate partner of the day as he saw Gorilla waiting by the car. The Gorilla handed over his phone as Adrien got buckled in.</p><p> </p><p>&lt;You ready for some fun tonight, kid?&gt;</p><p> </p><p>Adrien laughed at his new partner in crime and then sniffed the air. “Yeah, but let’s hurry home. I stink.”</p><p> </p><p>Gorilla just snorted as he pulled away.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Adrien was just stepping out of the car just as a pink blur ran up to the hotel. “Marinette!”</p><p> </p><p>“Adrien! You made it! I was worried your father wouldn't let you come.” She sounded kind of breathless as they made their way into the hotel. Marinette was carrying something that looked suspiciously like a gift bag.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien turned to her as they got onto the elevator. “Actually, he didn’t. The Gorilla broke me out. Father and Nathalie are in Milan for a meeting anyway. As long as I get home by midnight, they won’t even know. Gorilla’s actually pretty cool.”</p><p> </p><p>She was still giggling as they walked into Chloé’s suite. Adrien was confused. There were only eight people inside. “Where’s everybody else?”</p><p> </p><p>Nino came over for a fist bump. “This is it, bro.” Adrien managed to hide a wince at the nickname. “Kim’s at a swim meet with Ondine, Max is running an event in one of his MMOs, Alix is helping her dad with a kid’s night at the Louvre, and Nathanael and Marc had a last minute meeting with a potential publisher.”</p><p> </p><p>As Marinette went to put her bag on the table and check on the snacks, Adrien took a moment to check out everyone’s costumes.</p><p> </p><p>Myléne and Ivan were Belle and The Beast, no surprise there. Juleka was Megara, and Rose was a tiny Hercules, complete with a ridiculously adorable muscle suit. Alya and Nino were Tiana and Prince Naveen. <em>At least the cooking theme fits, </em>he thought with a snort. Chloe and Sabrina were a surprisingly accurate Elsa and Anna. And Marinette looked great in her pink dress.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed a cup of soda and some cookies and joined everyone else just as Juleka was asking about Marinette’s costume. “I helped with costumes for the school’s performance of ‘Tangled’ last spring. I borrowed the dress and wig from Allegra. It’s a good thing we’re the same size.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, everybody,” Chloé got the group’s attention. “We’re watching a couple of movies, with something special in between, and then we’re playing some party games.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad you get to relax with your friends,” Marinette whispered as the movie started.</p><p> </p><p>“Me too, Mari.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>As the credits rolled, Adrien hadn’t even noticed that Marinette had left until she sat back down holding the bag she came in with. “What’s in the bag, Mari?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a surprise,” she winked. “Ready everybody? One. Two. Three.”</p><p> </p><p>“Happy early birthday, Adrien!” everybody chorused.</p><p> </p><p>Nino leaned over Alya and Marinette to bump his fist. “We know it’s not for a couple of weeks. It’s not like your dad would let you have a party, so Chloé and Marinette put this together. We took up a collection and had some shirts made for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien dug in the bag in stunned silence. There were five T-shirts, each one of them had a math or physics joke. “Guys, I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you for being the best friends I could ask for.”</p><p> </p><p>“Group hug!” Rose yelled as everybody piled in. If Adrien shed a tear or two, they pretended not to notice as the second movie played.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Okay, it’s game time! Sabrina found this cool app that picks a game for you based on the kind of party.” Sabrina showed everyone how it worked. They could even enter names so the app could pick who started. “First game is...’Would You Rather.’ Nino, you’re up first.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien laughed at the ridiculous scenarios they came up with to stump each other. They played around the group a few times before Sabrina picked a new game.</p><p> </p><p>“Costume swap! You’ll swap costumes with your partner.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can use my bedroom and bathroom to change. I have bathrobes, too. So you don’t have to worry if you’re uncomfortable seeing your partner undressed.” Chloé shot a pointed look at Adrien and Marinette when she saw they were sitting ramrod straight, although she couldn’t know they had entirely different reasons.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, Chloé, there’s a problem,” Juleka spoke up. “Rose and I won’t fit in each other’s costumes, and something tells my Myléne and Ivan have the same problem.” Myléne giggled as she snuggled into Ivan’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“Then you four just volunteered to be judges. Sabrina and I are first.” Sabrina squeaked when she saw Chloé had already vanished into her room.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien hoped nobody could hear his heart race. All of a sudden the memories came flooding back. Chasing Chloé around dressed as princesses. Mom’s laughter. Father’s disappointment. <em>Calm down, Adrien. He’s not here to yell at you. It’s just a silly little game.</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Everyone agreed Chloé and Sabrina just didn’t look right, while Alya and Nino couldn’t quite pull off each other’s costumes, and suddenly it was their turn.</p><p> </p><p>“Everything alright?” Adrien realized Marinette was talking to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied as Marinette ducked into the bathroom so he could take his costume off.</p><p> </p><p>He tightened the sash on the robe and knocked on the bathroom door. “Mari, I’m done.” The door flew open and she shot out, face the same shade as her dress.</p><p> </p><p>“Great! I’ll let you row when I’m done. Know when I’m done!”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien wondered what that was all about as he shut the door behind him. Plagg shot out of the robe’s pocket. “You good, kid? You need to breathe.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine. I don’t even know what I’m worried about.” He splashed some water on his face. “Everything’s just fine.”</p><p> </p><p>He jumped at the knock. “I’m done changing. I’ll see you out there.” He took a deep breath and walked out to the bed. There was the dress laid out with the wig. <em>Just like a black top and cute green skirt. </em>He shook his head. “It’s now or never.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Adrien hesitated at the door. <em>You can do this. You can do this,</em> his inner Plagg voice repeated. He took a deep breath and stepped into the suite.</p><p> </p><p>“How bad do I look?” he asked when he was greeted with silence. <em>Oh god, they’re going to figure out what I’ve been thinking and they’ll all laugh at me.</em> Marinette’s giggle broke the silence.</p><p> </p><p>“That bad, huh?” he said as he felt his heart drop.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Adrien, no. It’s really cute on you. You actually look like Rapunzel.” She handed him his phone. “Unlock it so I can take a picture to show you. That way you can delete it if you hate it and nobody else has to know about this.”</p><p> </p><p>A quick photo later, and Adrien couldn’t believe his eyes. <em>Oh, no. It’s happening again</em>. He shut his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. <em>Wow! The dress is a little tight in the shoulders and kind of short, but Mari’s right. I do look like her.</em> He felt a strange burst of confidence. He joined the rest of the group as the judges named him and Marinette the unanimous winners. The couples even took a few pictures to remember the night.</p><p> </p><p>They were sitting around swapping stories when Adrien’s phone went off.</p><p> </p><p><b>Gorilla: </b>Sorry, kid. I lost track of time. It’s almost midnight, and we need to get you home before the Boss shows up.</p><p> </p><p>“Crap. I have to get home before my father. I’m not exactly supposed to be here.” He checked the time. “And I only have 15 minutes!” He ran over to grab his bag of shirts.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you want to change back?” Marinette asked.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no time. I’ll be fine if I make it home first. I’ll bring the dress to school with me Monday. Thanks for the party and the shirts, everyone!” He was out the door and in the elevator before it hit him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What’s Gorilla going to think when he sees me?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Wake Up Little Valérie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A change is in order.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Simeon Lloyd, known to everyone except a select few as Gorilla, was leaning against the car when Adrien came running out of the hotel. He raised an eyebrow at the dress.</p><p> </p><p>“Costume swap. I didn’t have time to change back,” Adrien said as he slid into his seat.</p><p> </p><p>Gorilla heard a sigh and looked in the mirror to see Adrien looking at his phone with a serene look on his face. <em>I know the kid’s been down recently. Did him and the baker girl finally figure things out?</em> He sent a text at the next traffic light.</p><p> </p><p>“No, she didn’t kiss me. She doesn’t like me that way.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Still oblivious, then. </em>He turned his head, playing it off as looking behind them. Adrien was looking at a picture of him and the baker girl in their swapped costumes. <em>If it’s not the girl then what-? Oh. </em>Gorilla couldn’t help the soft smile that appeared on his face. Usually smiles like that were saved for his sister. He had an image to maintain. <em>That reminds me of St</em><em>é</em><em>fhanie in her early days. I hope the kid has an easier time of it </em><em>than she did</em><em>.</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Adrien stood frozen in his room, bag of shirts forgotten in his hand. “Plagg? I could use some help.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong, kitten?” Plagg flew over holding a wedge of cheese. “I thought you’d be happy after that party.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am! It was great! But I’m… I don’t know. Confused, I guess.” Adrien flopped down on his couch. Plagg swallowed his cheese and settled on Adrien’s knee.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s talk it out, kid. You started to have the feelings before you changed, right? Then you seemed to calm down when you put the dress on.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien sighed. “Yeah, I guess. I started to feel like I did last night. That went away when I put on Marinette’s dress.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg hummed as he thought. He had an idea what was going on, but he didn’t want to say just yet. The kid was still pretty fragile. So, he did what he did best, try to lighten the mood. “And how did that make you feel?” he asked in his best doctor voice.</p><p> </p><p>That got a small chuckle out of Adrien. “What are you, a therapist now? But, to answer your question, I’m not entirely sure. I still felt a little strange, but it also felt right, you know? I actually felt like myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg nodded. “Look, kid. I’m not very good at this feelings stuff. That’s more Tikki’s thing. So I’m just going to come out and ask it. Did you feel like a girl?”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien started to panic. “Is that what’s wrong with me? Do you think I’m trans?”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg flew up and grabbed onto Adrien’s nose. “Hey, breathe, okay? With me. In for five and out for seven. In for five and out for seven.” Once Adrien’s breathing slowed down, he continued. “There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. You. At all. You think you might be a girl. So what? You’re not my first holder to be born a boy but realize they were a girl. Or the other way around for that matter.”</p><p> </p><p>“But who can I tell? I know I can’t tell Father. I’ve overheard him say some nasty things about trans people before. But, I don’t know how I can keep being Adrien Agreste, boy model.”</p><p> </p><p>“So don’t tell him. You don’t have to tell anyone if you aren’t ready. Why don’t we try something? Go take a shower, put on your comfiest pajamas, and meet me by the mirror.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien came out of the bathroom in his Ladybug pajamas and put the dress into a garment bag. “Okay, Plagg, what do you want me to do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Think about when you put the dress on at the party. Think about how you felt when you saw your picture on your phone.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien thought back to the blonde girl in the photo that looked like a Rapunzel who outgrew her dress. The calm feeling when everyone said he looked good.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay go ahead and transform.”</p><p> </p><p>“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien squeezed his eyes shut against the flash in the mirror. He ran through Plagg’s breathing exercise a couple of times before daring to take a look.</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh, my… </em>The first thing Adrien saw was hair. A lot of hair. It was pulled together in braid that fell to about mid back. Next was the face. The same green eyes were there, tears leaking out, but it had a slightly more feminine shape. Adrien noticed the swell of breasts in the reflection. Looking down, Adrien confirmed they were really there. The reflection’s waist was smaller, and the hips were wider and more rounded. Adrien reached out and touched the reflection. <em>I’m so pretty. This is who I want to be. This is who I </em>am.</p><p> </p><p>She wasn’t sure how long she was staring before her ring beeped. She released her transformation and fell to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, what did you think?” Plagg was floating in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“It was beautiful. I was a girl. I wasn’t Chat, I was someone else.” She wiped her eyes with a watery laugh and said, “I was Chatonne Noire!”</p><p> </p><p>“Is this something you would really like?” Plagg asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” she swallowed the lump that threatened to reform in her throat. “I think so. But, now I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.” She slept better than she had in a long time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Don’t Drop the Pins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our heroine tries to juggle three lives.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For now, she’s still using “Adrien,” but references will be using female pronouns.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The weekend had been one of the most emotionally exhausting, yet fulfilling, weekends of Adrien’s life. After Plagg had allowed her to transform a few more times, they sat down and had a long talk about how she wanted to go forward. She decided to stick to using ‘Adrien.’ All of this was still new, after all, and she hadn’t had the chance to look for a new name. Plagg also mentioned that it would be a good idea to stick to Chat Noir until she had a chance to talk to Ladybug. It wouldn’t do to have her think she was an akuma or that somebody stole her miraculous.</p><p> </p><p>“Yo, Adrien!” Nino shouted as she got out of the car. She saw Alya and Marinette laughing over something on Alya’s phone.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette handed her her coffee and a <em>pain au chocolat. </em>“Three sugars and caramel, just like always.” Marinette couldn’t believe how Adrien stayed almost alarmingly skinny with coffee like that. “Um, just wondering, did you bring the costume? Since, you know, it’s not exactly mine.”</p><p> </p><p>It had hit her in the shower this morning. How was she going to get the bag past Nathalie? Gorilla had obviously remembered better, because when she picked up her phone, there was a message telling her to drop it out her window.</p><p> </p><p>“My driver’s going to drop it off at the bakery. He’ll probably pick up a pastry or twelve while he’s there.” The bell rang and the crowd of students started filing off toward their classrooms.</p><p> </p><p>“You seem in a good mood,” Marinette said as they settled into their seats. “Have a good weekend?”</p><p> </p><p>“Would you guys believe it if I said I spent most of it thinking?” Adrien said.</p><p> </p><p>“So you do have a brain in there, Sunshine,” Alya laughed. “Sometimes we wonder.” Adrien pouted, though her eyes said she took as the joke it was. Nino chuckled, and Marinette swatted at Alya.</p><p> </p><p>“We already knew that! My physics grades are proof.” She wasn’t wrong. With Kagami gone, and nobody to challenge him in practice, Adrien had been allowed to skip fencing once a week. Most of that time was spent in the library, helping her with her physics. Adrien knew just how to break things down so she could understand the concepts. “What were you thinking about?”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien grimaced. “Personal stuff.” Marinette was about ready to apologize when Adrien continued. “After the party Friday night, thanks for that again, by the way. Anyway, the party got me thinking about some changes I want make in my life. Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I just needed some self-reflection time.” She turned around as the teacher came in. W<em>ow, that was close! It’s a good thing I’m good at coming up with half-truths.</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Adrien went back to her room after dinner. She’d had another photo shoot after school today. It was for a youth fragrance, and the photographer wanted a teen heartthrob. The shoot had left her feeling pretty disgusting. Maybe a shower would make her feel better.</p><p> </p><p>Plagg sighed as he settled down with a wedge of cheese. Today’s shoot would have been hard on the kid, even without the photographer saying things like, “Eat the spaghetti. Let all the girls see what a handsome boy you are.” Plagg was <em>this</em> close to destroying the guy’s camera, secrecy be damned.</p><p> </p><p>He heard a muffled sob coming from the bathroom. He knew Adrien didn’t want him around while she was showering, but Plagg figured this was an emergency. “Hey, can I come in?” he asked as he phased through the door. The water was off, but Adrien was sitting on the shower floor, hugging her knees to her chest.</p><p> </p><p>Plagg flew over holding a towel. “Come here, kitten. Let’s get you dried off and then we can transform for a while.”</p><p> </p><p>That got a smile as he draped the towel over her head. “Thanks, Plagg. What would I do without you? Besides not smell like cheese all the time.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg grumbled, but hugged his Chosen anyway. <em>I hope she talks to Ladybug soon. She needs some human support.</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The rest of the week was more of the same. Go to school, participate in one of her many extracurriculars, and go home. Wednesday had another shoot that made her spend most of the night transformed. She couldn’t even talk to Ladybug. The spotted heroine had called off their patrols that week, citing a swamped personal life.</p><p> </p><p>Friday afternoon, Adrien was in the middle of yet another photo shoot. This one wasn’t too bad. They were going for something wistful and pensive. <em>That hasn’t been too hard to do lately, </em>she thought with an internal snort. That’s when the screaming started. Everyone scattered and she hid in a cluster of bushes. “I’m going to do it tonight,” she said as Plagg floated out of her shirt. “I’m going come out to her,” she said with a determined look on her face, though Plagg could sense her nerves.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry, kitten. I’m proud of you, and she will be, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks. Plagg, claws out!” And Adrien became Chat Noir for the last time.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Ladybug tried not to laugh as Chat helped up the latest akuma victim. He was mad at all the slow walkers clogging the aisles in the grocery store. It might have been one of the more petty reasons to be akumatized, but at least his powers were convenient for the heroes. Speed Demon moved at a normal speed, but everyone he zapped moved twice as fast. It may have been the first time the heroes let themselves be hit. It was definitely their fastest fight outside of Mr. Pigeon.</p><p> </p><p>She was just about ready to take off when Chat grabbed her wrist. “Hey, can we meet up at the usual place tonight? I have something important to talk about.”</p><p> </p><p>She saw he was kind of nervous. “What’s wrong, kitty?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing’s wrong,” Chat was quick to reassure her. “There’s just something I need to get off my chest, and I can’t do it in public. Oh! I might look different. I’ll think of something to say so you know it’s me.”</p><p> </p><p>Her earring gave its third beep. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you there. Same bug time, same bug place.” She could still hear his laughter as she swung away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Come Out and Play</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette becomes an emotional support bug.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ladybug swung off her balcony and into the night. She had considered putting it off until patrol tomorrow night, but something about Chat’s face told her he needed this. If she was honest with herself, she needed to get out and run, too. She had a rushed commission for a dress from Clara Nightingale. A dress that was now in a bag ready to be picked up in the morning.</p><p> </p><p>She was still a few roofs away when she saw the silhouette sitting on the edge. Something about the shape was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. <em>Am I wrong, or does he look smaller?</em> “Kitty?” she said as she landed.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay back for a second, please.” There was a shaky breath. “When we were fighting Dark Owl, we transformed in front of each other. Thank you for trusting me. Now I’m trusting you with something almost as big as our identities. Please, close your eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I trust you,” She said, eyes closed. She heard footsteps start and stop a few times, and some muttering that almost sounded like someone giving themselves a pep talk. “Are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” she heard in a voice that wasn’t quite as deep as normal. “I’m ready. Open your eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>She gasped at what she saw. The girl in front of her looked to be about the same age. Her partner’s face was different enough to confuser her, but the green lipstick was a nice touch. And those piercing green eyes. Green eyes that were starting to water. <em>Oh no, </em>she thought. <em>She probably thinks I hate her. </em></p><p> </p><p><em>Oh, no. She hates me. I knew this was a bad idea. She’s probably going to take my mir- </em>Chatonne’s thoughts were cut off as strong arms wrapped around her and she broke down. She had no idea how long she stood there sobbing into Ladybug’s shoulder. She just knew one minute she was afraid she ruined everything and the next she was purring as Ladybug scratched behind her cat ears.</p><p> </p><p>“My sweet, brave kitty,” Ladybug cooed as her partner started to gain control of her breathing. “That must have been so hard. I’m really proud of you.” She sat down and patted the spot next to her. “It sounds like we have a lot to talk about. First off, let’s make sure I’m not missing any signals. You’re trans, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“This cat is 100% a queen with the uncomfortable body of a tomcat.” She leaned into Ladybug’s shoulder. “I’ve been having strange feelings off and on for years, but I didn’t know what they were until last weekend. Plagg offered to help change my transformation, so here I am. Chatonne Noire at your service, My Lady.”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug covered her mouth to hide a giggle. “You just answered my second question, flirt. Is there anything else on your mind, kitty?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not at the moment,” Chatonne said as they stood up. “I’m sure I’ll think of something, but it can wait until patrol tomorrow.” She pulled Ladybug in for another hug. “Thank you so much, Ladybug. You have no idea how much it means to have someone I can be myself around. I’ll see you tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne vaulted off of the roof feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As the healing ladybugs flew and she walked over to the victim, Chatonne sighed to herself. She knew it wouldn’t be long until an attack. She just wished she had more time. The victim was a trans boy who had been set off by a well-meaning, but insensitive comment. The akuma had flown around Paris, switching people to the opposite sex. Both of them had been hit. She had to admit, Ladybug made quite the handsome boy. When Chatonne was hit however, she didn’t change.</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug had to make a hasty exit as, Chatonne knelt in front of the victim and whispered, “Hey, I know exactly what you’re going through. Can you keep a secret for me?” The boy nodded. “I’m trans, too. I just figured it out a couple of weeks ago. Never feel bad about who you really are. Talk to your friends. They didn’t mean to hurt you, they just didn’t know it was something they shouldn’t have said.”</p><p> </p><p>She pulled the boy to his feet. “Will you be okay?” The boy nodded again and ran over to his friends. She turned around and found herself facing a crowd of reporters shouting questions.</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s Chat Noir?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is Chat Noir on vacation?”</p><p> </p><p>“Did Chat Noir get fired?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you permanently taking Chat Noir’s place?”</p><p> </p><p>She held up a hand, thankful for the PR training she’d had as a model. “I’m not a replacement, this cat’s the real deal. That’s all I’m willing to say at this time.” She tensed, ready to jump, as she locked eyes with Alya. “I might talk to some of you later.” And with a leap, she was running across the rooftops in peace.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Plagg played with the computer mouse while Adrien spun in her chair. “You sure about this, kid.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien shrugged, “I guess so. I mean it was bound to happen sometime soon, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not wrong. For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. You could help a lot of people, like you helped that kid today.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think so, too. Plagg, claws out!”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Alya was pacing in her room, hoping she wasn’t just imagining the hidden message in the cat heroine’s statement. She was about ready to give up, when she heard a thump and a gentle knock on her window.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s Alya, right?” Chatonne said as she climbed inside. “How would like an interview with your second-favorite superhero?”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne took some calming breaths as Alya got her equipment set up.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello everybody, Alya here with a once in a lifetime exclusive interview! Many of you had some questions after the Switcher’s attack. Besides asking if Hawkmoth has run out of ideas.” They both chuckled. “We all want to know: ‘Who was that cat heroine?’ ‘Did Chat Noir quit?’ Well, get ready, faithful fans. The cat herself is here to shed some light. Why don’t you start by introducing yourself?”</p><p> </p><p>With one last deep breath, Chatonne told her story. “Hi, Paris. My name is Chatonne Noire, and I’m a transgender girl…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Validated Parking</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chatonne gets some validation and goes browsing.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>The True Mark of Bravery</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>by Alya Césaire</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A lot of people think risking your life to protect Paris from Hawkmoth’s latest victim is the bravest thing someone can do. They’re wrong. That bravery should be applauded. We owe so much to our heroes. But, I recently learned about true bravery. The bravery to accept who you really are. The bravery to come out of the closet. The bravery to be honest with yourself and others.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>In this exclusive interview, I sat down with Chatonne Noir. One of Paris’ heroes, and soon a hero to so many more, many of whom have never been affected by Hawkmoth.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adrien watched the rain slide down the car’s window with a smile. She had been nervous about the reaction to her interview. She knew there were people out there who hated people like her. But, looking through the comments on the ride to school, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Quite a few commenters were sharing their own coming out stories, some of them even used their comments to come out to anyone for the first time. That by itself almost made all the pain she went through worth it.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Marinette watched Adrien slide into his desk with a fist bump for Nino and turned her attention back to Alya’s excited babbling about the interview. “What do you think, M? You hang out with her, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t call it hanging out. It’s not like she’s at my house every other night. She stops in occasionally on patrol for a chat. That’s it. And it took a lot of courage to do what she did.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. It was pretty cool. Did you know?” Nino turned and asked. “Since you’ve talked to her, and everything.”</p><p> </p><p>“No. I had no idea.” She shook her head and started taking out her book. The visits really weren’t very frequent, maybe once a month. But she hadn’t seen this coming. She always thought the sadness was just from Chatonne’s home life. She wondered if she would have a visitor soon.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Marinette was putting the finishing touches on some sundress sketches. There were some fabrics at the store that had caught her eye, and she was full of ideas on how to use them. She had just got up to stretch when she heard the thump on her balcony.</p><p> </p><p>She poked her head out of the trap door. Chatonne Noir was leaning against the railing, eye’s closed and looking like she was deep in thought. “Well, are you coming in?” Marinette asked. Chatonne nodded and followed her inside. Marinette made it to the floor when she turned and frowned. Chatonne was frozen at the top of the ladder, and were those tears threatening to spill down her face?</p><p> </p><p>“Get down here so I can hug you,” Marinette said, opening her arms. “I need to show one of my best friends how proud I am of her.”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne clung desperately to her. “Oh, thank God.” She took a few minutes to get herself together. “You’re the first person I’ve talked about it to since the interview. Can we sit down?”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette led her over to the chaise. “Are you okay? That felt like a lot more than relief. You want to talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“In a minute, Princess” she nodded and tapped the side of her head. “Everything’s all jumbled right now, so I need to figure out how to say what I want.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette patted her leg. “Sit tight. I’ll go get us some snacks while you work it out.” She shut her door behind her and went down the steps into the kitchen. Her parents were at the table going over the bakery’s books. She got a plate and started grabbing cookies out of the day old jar.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have a visitor?” Sabine asked, but she knew the answer. The visits hadn’t been very frequent lately. Sometimes they would come down and spend time as a family, sometimes they would stay in Marinette’s room or on the balcony. Sabine shared a look with Tom. They understood this week was a big one. “Does she want to come down and talk to us?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, maman. Something’s bothering her. She’s figuring out how to say what’s on her mind. If you see us, you’ll know.”</p><p> </p><p>Tom looked up from his laptop. “Make sure to hug her for us. Let her know how proud we are.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will, papa.” Chatonne was looking at something on her baton as Marinette climbed up the stairs. She sat down next to Chatonne, giving her a quick side hug. “That’s from Maman and Papa. They’re proud of you. Would you like to talk to them?”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne shook her head. “Not tonight. Parents are kind of my problem right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you told your father?” Marinette asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No. And after tonight, I know I never can.” Chat sighed. “His company is collaborating with another on a project. That company is fairly well-known in the industry for employing quite a few trans people. I caught the tail end of a phone call, and what he said when after he hung up.” She took a shaky breath and pushed on, “He said: ‘I can’t believe I agreed to work with those freaks.’ As soon as I’m done with school, I’m out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Chatonnne.” Marinette felt tears well up. “You shouldn’t have to live with someone like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be fine, Princess. I’ll probably only see him six or seven times between now and then.” Her ring beeped and she stood. “That’s my cue. I’ve been working my kwami pretty hard lately. I was going to give him the night off, but I needed out for a little while.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Chatonne Noir transformed as she landed on her floor. “Thanks, Plagg. I really needed that,” she said as she pulled some cheese out of her pocket. She reached over and turned on her computer. She knew she wasn’t ready yet, but between the support Alya, Nino, and Marinette showed Chatonne, and the indirect support of Marinette’s parents, she could see coming out as her civilian self.</p><p> </p><p>“Whatchya doin’, kid?” Plagg asked as he settled by the keyboard. “Those look like names.”</p><p> </p><p>“They are,” she said as she wrote down another possibility. It was pretty hard to pick a name you wanted to go by for the rest of your life. “My friends were all really cool about Chatonne, so it got me thinking maybe I could come out to them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Soon?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head. “Not yet. I need to figure out what I want to be called, first. And I’ll probably need a week or two to make sure I’m ready. You heard them today, and Marinette’s parents said they were proud of me. I don’t know, I guess it made me think it would be okay if they knew, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let me see what you have so far. Ooh, that one means ‘dark or black,’ I can see why you’d like that. You should talk to Pollen if you get the chance. The name came from one of her holders” There was a snort as he moved on. “You just couldn’t help the cat pun, could you?” She laughed as Plagg got to the last name that wasn’t crossed out. “This one means ‘strong or brave.’ This week proved you’re nothing if not those.”</p><p> </p><p>“But what if I pick one and start to like a different name? I don’t want to keep changing. It will be too confusing.”</p><p> </p><p>“So, don’t pick one yet.” Plagg shrugged. “Keep those in the back of your mind. See if one resonates more than the others. You know what I’m going to say now, right?”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Good night Plagg.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chatonne Noir Eats Some Ice Cream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chatonne develops an exit strategy.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Adrien.” She suppressed a shudder at Nathalie’s tone. “You have a haircut scheduled for after school. Your fencing instructor has already been notified.” She turned and left the room before Adrien could even say anything.</p><p> </p><p>She groaned. She had decided to grow her hair out. Getting it cut was the last thing she wanted to do.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Okay, dude, you’ve been quiet all day.” She was waiting in front of the school with her friends.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s nothing,” she said. “I just have a thing I have to do, and I don’t really want to do it.” She felt a hand on her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?” Marinette asked with a worried look. “Will you be able to go through with it?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded as her car pulled up. “Yeah,” she lied. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Gorilla looked in the mirror again. The kid had been quiet the entire ride to the salon, staring forlornly out the window. As he found a place to park, he shot off a text.</p><p> </p><p><b>Gorilla: </b>You okay, kid?</p><p> </p><p>She sighed. “Hey, do you think we could skip the haircut? Maybe go find some ice cream?” <em>Oh, that poor kid. I bet I was right</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Gorilla flashed a smile and a thumbs up, and pulled away. The kid could use a break. Besides, who was he to turn down free ice cream.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“It’s almost like they know I skipped out on that haircut,” she said after she got home from yet another late night photo shoot. The last three weeks had been packed full of fittings and shoots. She barely had time to breathe, let alone eat. It was bad enough that she had to cancel her patrols, so she couldn’t even use Chatonne Noire to become a girl very much.</p><p> </p><p>On top of all that, she had a history test in a couple of days. She giggled as she remembered Marinette turning white as a sheet at the reminder, she obviously had forgotten about it. The blonde wasn’t worried, though. She had the material down, but a little review never hurt anyone.</p><p> </p><p>“What if I faked my death?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, kid. Can you run that by me again?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been thinking about how I want to get out of here. I can’t just leave. Father won’t care that I’m 18. They’ll be looking for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds about right, so far.” Plagg agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“I just don’t know how I’d make it look convincing, while still getting away.” Plagg picked up another chunk of cheese, but paused halfway to his mouth, staring at the cheese in his paws. “I got it!”</p><p> </p><p>At her questioning look, he continued. “We’ll need something on the river and an Aqua powerup. Here’s what we do…”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She was just packing her things from her final class when she heard the screams. <em>Great. Just when I got father to back off on the threats, too.</em> She ran down an empty hallway and ducked into a supply closet to transform. By the time she got to the courtyard, the akuma was curled up on the ground and Ladybug was holding a spotted doll of a monkey holding its hands over its mouth. <em>Cool. I remember Kagami talking about them. It’s name is </em>Iwazaru<em>, I think.</em></p><p> </p><p>She leaned down to whisper in Ladybug’s ear. “Working hard, My Lady?” That earned her a quiet giggle. “I bet someone got caught sleeping in class.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think you’re right, Kitty. See his bag? Cataclysm it. Quietly.”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne barely breathed the word, and swiped her hand across the akuma’s bag. She wasn’t surprised to see a butterfly fly away from the dust. One purified akuma later, and Chatonne was helping the victim to his feet. “Can you get home okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. I stayed up too late playing the new Star Crushers game, and I fell asleep in class.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is it any good? I’ve been on the fence about getting it.”</p><p> </p><p>“It will eat your life. You ever played Factorio?”</p><p> </p><p>Chat just laughed. “The factory must grow.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s almost as addicting. I gotta run.”</p><p> </p><p>Laydybug walked up as the boy left. “Chatonne? Can we skip tonight’s patrol? There’s something civilian me needs to take care of, and I have plans that might run long tomorrow. Maybe we can do a bonus patrol on Saturday?” Chatonne nodded. She’d made it this far, what could one more night hurt? “Sounds like a plan. My workload has eased up, so I’ll be there.”</p><p> </p><p>Chatonne checked the time on her baton as Ladybug swung away. She wouldn’t even be late to fencing practice.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Adrien.” She hated that voice. Gabriel was standing at the top of the steps as she came through the door. “I see there was another akuma attack at your school. If this continues, you will return to being homeschooled.”</p><p> </p><p>“But, Father,” she tried to keep her tone level. “I wasn’t even in any danger. Ladybug and Chatonne Noir defeated the akuma almost before I could even find a hiding place.” All that got her was a glare and deeper frown.</p><p> </p><p>“That may be, but it’s still too dangerous for my liking.” He walked down the stairs. “Turn your head.” Adrien did as he commanded. “Hmm. Your hair is too long. I’ll have Nathalie schedule an appointment.”</p><p>“Father, please, I like my hair this way.” <em>I don’t think I can skip out on another appointment so soon.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Nonsense. You look too feminine like this. Now, go on to your room. You’ll be notified when dinner is ready.</p><p> </p><p>She managed to hold the sobs in until she closed her door behind her. “I can’t stand it anymore, Plagg. I’m sick and tired of being Adrien Agreste, <em>boy</em> supermodel. I feel like I’m lying to everyone around me. I feel like I’m lying to myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Plagg started kneading in her hair. “I know, kid. I think it’s time to speed up your escape plan. I know your patrol tonight was canceled, so after dinner, why don’t you transform and give her a call? Tell her you need to meet up tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” She swallowed and stood up. “In the meantime, I think we need to do some more research.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. tell me you love me and make me believe it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chatonne meets Ladybug and gets more than she bargained for.</p><p>Not really a chapter.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Go read “tell me you love me and make me believe it” by AlexSeanchai.</p><p>
  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22771042">https://archiveofourown.org/works/22771042</a>
</p><p> </p><p>There are a few changes to keep in mind, though:</p><ul>
<li>
<p>Chatonne hasn’t always been Chatonne.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Ladybug knows Chatonne likes girls and guys.</p>
</li>
</ul><p> </p><p>Seriously, though, go read that fic. It’s amazing and one of the two that inspired this story. When you’re done, join us back here for Chapter 10.</p>
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